Preparation in Assessment for Early Childhood Educators in Hawai‘i

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which programs that prepared early childhood educators in Hawai‘i included various aspects of early childhood assessment. It was an attempt to establish a baseline of what existed with regard to instruction in early childhood assessment among preparation programs. Participants included 9 program coordinators and 43 faculty members from 12 of the 14 preparation programs in the State. The programs included four associate, three bachelor, and five post-baccalaureate degree programs. Participants completed online surveys. Program coordinators responded to questions about whether candidates in their programs were required to learn about and how to conduct assessment in various areas, and how assessment content was delivered. They also reported on more general information about their programs, such as enrollment, target student populations, and numbers of faculty. Faculty members responded to questions about whether they taught candidates about and how to conduct assessment in various areas and whether they would find it helpful to have professional development opportunities in these areas. Results indicated that all faculty members reported teaching candidates about and how to conduct assessments in the areas of different developmental domains and using authentic assessment tools. There were a number of discrepancies regarding what coordinators reported was required and what faculty members suggested that they taught. The greatest discrepancies were in the areas of formal assessment, particularly regarding readiness and achievement tests and using assessment data to inform local programming and policy. Compared to the other types of programs, there appeared to be the most alignment across coordinators and faculty members in the associate degree programs.